Stars confirm: 'Poppins' author was tough

BURBANK, Calif. - Movie buffs know the story of a kind nanny in Mary Poppins. But they might not know about the boardroom brawls sparked by the development of the movie.

BURBANK, Calif. — Movie buffs know the story of a kind nanny in Mary Poppins.

But they might not know about the boardroom brawls sparked by the development of the movie.

Mary Poppins actors Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke attended the U.S. premiere on Monday night of Saving Mr. Banks, which depicts the battle between P.L. Travers, author of the “Mary Poppins” novels, and Walt Disney.

Saving Mr. Banks picks up the story in 1961, when Travers, a London resident, agreed to visit Los Angeles to meet with Disney. Before signing over the film rights, she wanted to see Disney’s treatment of her material and proved a brutal critic and difficult collaborator.

In Banks, Travers (played by Emma Thompson) goes on a tirade about the hiring of Van Dyke. On the arrivals line, Van Dyke revealed an additional tidbit not in the movie.

“Well, she wasn’t thrilled with Julie, either,” he said. “She wanted a dumpy little Mary Poppins. She didn’t want a pretty girl. So she didn’t like either one of us.”

The battle was concluded before Andrews was deep into production.

“I had heard rumors,” she said — “no doubt about it.”

Andrews and Travers became friendly and later wrote letters to each other.

“She was a tough lady,” Andrews said. “But there was a kind of sadness underneath all that toughness, too.”

Saving Mr. Banks will open on Dec. 20 in theaters.

A speaking engagement forced Andrews to miss the NBC presentation last week of The Sound of Music Live! — with Carrie Underwood as Maria. Andrews played the role in the 1965 film version of The Sound of Music.